Friberg, John

Issues that trigger strong emotions and creates tension in society : a study of upper secondary school teacher's work with controversial issues in social science education (English)

Abstract [en]

How do active upper secondary school teachers in social science view controversial issues? In what way are they viewing these questions, how are they working with them and what are important questions to raise? This study examines how five social science teachers in upper secondary school views, handles and work with controversial issues in their teaching. The method that is used is based on interviews with the five teachers. The respondents came from three different schools from three different communes in the region of Jönköping County. The study is based on an interpretation of the teachers lifeworld connected to hermeneutic. Several different tools for analysis are used to make this interpretation. The conclusion is that the teachers in one way or another raised controversial issues. They either did it on purpose or the questions emerged spontaneous. None of the respondents were afraid of lifting these issues. They were important questions to work with. Especially to show the students that questions aren’t always black or white. There are often multiple dimensions and perspective connected to a question. It was important to show these perspectives according to the respondents. It was something they actively worked with. According to the respondents the work was often based on experience. The experience was connected to the exposing of the issues and the ability to handle them. Problems that could appear regarding these issues were that the questions could become sensitive in an emotionally way. They could also become discriminating or that the knowledge of the questions was poor. This involved both teachers and students.